Pregnancy and Lactation Weekly Digest

The “afterbirth” is hardly an afterthought. The placenta is formed early in gestation, primarily from fetal cells, and is vital to nourishing the growing embryo. But it has been very difficult to study, especially during the first trimester when it is most important. Scientists have made a model, so placental functions can now be analyzed in a lab. Read more here.

This is important for you because as much as we know about pregnancy, there is still so much to learn – fortunately, people are still researching things like placenta formation.

Bed rest

Although many pregnant women are still put on bed rest, there is little evidence that it can lead to a good outcome – and it can actually be physically harmful, beyond wreaking havoc on the woman’s social, professional, and psychological life. Read more here.

This is important for you because if you are prescribed bed rest, it may be worth examining if it is really necessary and feasible.

Not planned, but still cute

Babies are unpredictable – so photoshoots featuring them do not always go as planned. See some candid shots here.

This is important for you because with a baby photoshoot, you might not get the photos you wanted – but they will be adorable nonetheless.

Maternal Mortality Legislation Passes

The US is the only industrialized country in which the mortality rate is rising. Congress just passed The Preventing Maternal Deaths Act to allocate more resources to figuring out why and how to stop the upward trend. Read more here.

This is important for you because childbirth should be as safe as possible. And right now in our country, it isn’t.

The way most popular article on The Pulse this week was Why Drinking Plenty Of Water Is So Important During Pregnancy. Read it here and share it.

Dr. Diana Gitig has a Ph.D. in cell biology and genetics from Cornell University, and has been writing about issues in biology – from molecular biology to cancer to immunology to neuroscience to nutrition to agriculture - for the past fifteen years. She has three teenaged children.